I'm Elizabeth Slattery and I'm Tiffany Bates and welcome to SCOTUS 101 when we break down what's happening at the Supreme Court, what the justices are up to, and other things related to our favorite branch of government.

This week we're talking about new grants, Kagan's recusal in a case that's already been argued, and we'll interview law professor Randy Barnett.

So the big news out of the court this week is that the court has entered the digital age.

It's now requiring electronic filing of documents for parties who are represented by a lawyer.

Pro se litigants such as prisoners can still file on paper.

So now cert petitions, merits briefs, and other documents will be available directly on the court's

website. So you don't have to go to Skodos blog, although, you know, we still love Skotis

blog.

Most importantly, you can see the certification of word count. I've always been very concerned

with that. Yes, we definitely want to check out the word count of every brief that's been filed.

So back in 2014,

Chief Justice Roberts issued a report announcing that the court would be developing an online filing

system. And he explained in this report that courts may have practices that seem archaic and

inefficient, and some are, but others rest on traditions that embody intangible wisdom.

So he explained that courts are cautious

about changing systems that work well until we're satisfied that we're introducing change for the good.

So I think this is probably change for the good. And if you want to read more about it, a friend of

the podcast, Bob Barnes, has an article in the Washington Post this week. So in other news, the court

granted cert in three new cases, and they should be scheduled

for argument sometime between February and April.

And they're all free speech cases, which I think makes the total six for this term, which is a lot.

Yeah, Justice Kennedy must be loving this term.

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